Shiho HAYASHI
Department Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies Position Professor |
|
Date | 2014/12 |
Presentation Theme | Silent Plotters in Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor |
Conference | 2nd International Conference on Narrative, Silence |
Promoters | 名古屋大学大学院国際言語文化研究科 |
Conference Type | International |
Presentation Type | Poster |
Contribution Type | Individual |
Venue | 名古屋大学 |
Publisher and common publisher | Shiho Hayashi |
Details | In Billy Budd Sailor (BB), Billy unconsciously gains political power over his shipmates and becomes a silent mutineer without any clear intention of being one. Hence, BB shows that erotic homosexual desires become a cause of instability in authority, or even great mutinies. Incapable historical leaders and the captain in this story cannot speak openly about suspicious erotic desires, which are harmful to the organizations, and they have failed to eliminate those desires. Occasionally, what Sedgwick termed "homosociality" works effectively to create a family-like relationship within the navy, if the term "homosociality" does not include homosexuality. Therefore, this story presents to us persistent sexual problems throughout the military, all of which result from maintaining silence about Claggart's sexual preference and Billy's stammering and Captain Vere's misjudgments. |